Francisco Sinistro wins the lightweight black belt adult division at the IBJJF Chicago Summer Open. Photo: Ivan Trindade

During the past weekend, new Alliance Ecuador black belt Francisco ‘Sinistro’ Iturralde competed at the IBJJF Chicago Summer Open on August 17-18. Sinistro has won the Worlds and Pan Ams both three times each as well as the Abu Dhabi WPJJC main event among many others. His debut at black belt was a success with a gold medal in the black belt adult lightweight division and a bronze medal in the open weight division.

Training and teaching in New York City, he plans for more tournaments in the future with similar results. He talked exclusively with GRACIEMAG about his matches and plans:

GRACIEMAG: What can you contribute to your successful first black belt gold medal?

FRANCISCO ITURRALDE: I was focused on imposing my game and to not let my opponents fix their positions. I was trying to make good grips the whole time so I can apply my game plan. I have been working more on specifics and Kinephys, my strength and conditioning coach, put a great conditioning plan for me so I didn’t get tired at all. The last thing you want to have in your mind while fighting for ten minutes is getting tired.

Who was your toughest match at the Chicago Open?

All of the matches were tough; I can see that in the black belt division you fight for small details or grips that make a great difference during the match.

What happened in your match against Vitor and what did you learn from your mistakes?

Vitor is a well-known competitor who medaled in the main tournaments this year so I felt his experience played a big role in that match. I opened the scoreboard with a sweep but he was able to manage the fight to get the win during the second half.  Thank God I could get the gold medal [in the lightweight division] and God willing I will do the Boston Open this weekend. It was a great feeling to finally fight in a main Jiu-Jitsu event and share the podium with legends of the sport and also with my brother Leo. I will compete the most that I can to represent well for my team, my country [Ecuador] and family.

And what do you feel is your strongest asset as in what you can be known for at black belt?

I want to be the one who works the hardest and whatever happens during the match, will not give up.

See the match between Sinistro and Philipe Della Monica in the lightweight division:

Chicago Winter Open black belt no-gi absolute final goes to Orlando Sanchez after a Gracie Barra gentleman’s agreement with Philipe Della Monica. Photo: Erin Herle

The IBJJF Chicago Summer Open is one of the only IBJJF city tournaments that offers no-gi divisions– which is why you should capitalize on that now.

With no-gi season among us and the No-Gi Pan American Championship shrimping closer (next month!) you should get in as much experience as you can on August 17-18 in Chicago.

In March, we saw the division on a Sunday in Chicago as the IBJJF Chicago Winter Open offered such experience. Black belts Orlando Sanchez, Philipe Della Monica and Leonardo D’Avila to name a few. Already signed up for the no-gi Summer Open black belt division is Denny Prokopos of 10th Planet, Philipe Della Monica once again, Vitor Henrique Oliveira, Oliver Geddes, GMA member Leonardo Iturralde and more.

The event will be held at Chicago State University: 9501 South King Drive, Chicago, IL 60628

Don’t miss out on the no-gi division by registering at www.IBJJF.org

The venue for the IBJJF Chicago Open. Photo: Erin Herle

The IBJJF Chicago Summer Open is set for August 17-18 at Chicago State University. The event will have gi divisions as well as no-gi divisions and registration is separate for each.

The event will take place at 9501 South King Drive, Chicago, IL 60628. The registration is open but will likely close before the deadline of Friday, August 9 as the list is filling fast.

So far top black belts have entered the gi division with Gracie Barra’s Philipe Della Monica who competed at the Chicago Winter Open earlier this year. The Iturralde brothers Leo and Francisco “Sinistro” will be representing the Alliance banner with this being Sinistro’s first competition at black belt. Also registered is Vitor Henrique Oliveira of GFTeam who recently won double gold at the IBJJF New York Open less than a month ago.

To register for the gi portion, please click here.

Watch this cool highlight below from the 2013 IBJJF Chicago Winter Open in March made by our friends at All Things BJJ:

Francisco Iturralde with the black belt around his waist. Photo: Personal Archive

A pupil of Fernando Soluço, Ecuador’s Francisco “Sinistro” Iturralde just got his black belt at the age of 21.

Sinistro is a well known face in IBJJF tournaments. At the 2013 Worlds in June, the lightweight nabbed third place at brown belt. Back in 2011, he won the WPJJC as a purple belt in Abu Dhabi.

“After eight years training a lot, I’m finally going to compete with the best black belts and represent Ecuador and Alliance in the big tournaments. I’m motivated and I’ll be training even harder to be the best in my division,” said Fracisco Iturralde on his Facebook page.

Our GMA representative in Ecuador, Fernando Soluço laid out his student’s characteristics and his new challenges. “He’s a skillful, technical kid who can play very well in various positions. Black belt lightweight is a very competitive category, but the brown belt today is also very tough. As either a lightweight or a middleweight, Sinistro is going to have a lot of potential,” he bets. “He’s a part of this new generation with a modern, submission-driven style of Jiu-Jitsu. But if I were to pick a single quality, I’d say Francisco is an excellent competitor. He’s one of Alliance’s big promises.”

The IBJJF New York Open is set for April 20 in the big apple. With many academies representing some of the largest teams such as Alliance, Nova Uniao, Gracie Elite and Gracie Barra the turn-out is sure to bring much competition. Right in the middle of tournament season between Pan Ams and Worlds, learn with the team that has won every major tournament including the 2012 NY Open.

In order to prepare, Fabio Clemente and his team of instructors are inviting you to their GMA New York academy. The training is from April 9-18 and includes top competitors and instructors like Babs, the Iturralde brothers Francisco “Sinistro” and Leo from Alliance Ecuador. There will be two training sessions a day at the academy. You can read about the atmosphere here when GracieMag made a visit earlier this year.

The camp is open to any team, affiliation and rank. If you are traveling and need accommodation, you can pay $40 a night to stay at the Alliance house with other members of the team and camp. For the entire camp, pay $300 and for just a week you can pay $200.

The Alliance NYC academy is located at: 93 3rd Avenue 2nd floor New York, NY 10003.

If you haven’t registered for the NY International Open yet, you can go here to confirm your spot.

To reserve your spot at the camp, please contact sinistroiturralde@gmail.com